Mentalization and externalizing behavior disorders in adolescence

Abstract

This article first explains the clinical theory of mentalization and then links it with research findings on externalizing behavior disorders in the fields of theory of mind and social information processing. Depending on the degree of proactive versus reactive aggression, different deficits in social cognition have been documented. However, despite the substantial changes in social cognition during adolescence, which have also been demonstrated neurobiologically, this phase of life has so far received little study. An analysis of two studies is therefore presented comparing the mentalizing abilities of late-adolescent violent offenders with the reflective abilities of a control group.